


look when you find rent this cheap in london you don't ask questions

by Code_Blue



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Gen, M/M, Martin Blackwood Needs a Hug, Mentioned Jane Prentiss, Mentioned Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist, Mentioned Peter Lukas, No Dialogue, No beta we kayak like Tim, Pre-Relationship, look i bashed this out in 20 minutes because, tma brainrot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-02
Updated: 2021-02-02
Packaged: 2021-03-13 00:00:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29144091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Code_Blue/pseuds/Code_Blue
Summary: "The Lonely’s really got you, hasn’t it?""You know, I think it always did."Hey, you ever wonder where Martin's neighbours were when he was under siege from Jane Prentiss?
Relationships: Martin Blackwood/Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist
Comments: 2
Kudos: 27





	look when you find rent this cheap in london you don't ask questions

**Author's Note:**

> literally bashed this out in 20 minutes in my notes app while i was in physics. so this is basically my unfiltered thought process.  
> apologies for the ramble-iness
> 
> have fun!

It seemed too good to be true...

It had been.

New in London, new to paying for supported care, not new to job hunting but that was difficult as ever.

He had found a tiny bedsit, right on the outskirts of the city. It could hardly be called London if he was honest.

He had to get out. Living with his mum was better than this dump and... Well.

Needless to say, seeing the ad in a newspaper he found on the tube was like a sign from above.

A sign of what exactly, he wasn't so sure anymore.

The vetting process had been odd to say the least; asking about family, friends, what he was doing in the city - even his childhood.

But the rent was so cheap - cheaper than his crappy bedsit - and it was so convenient for the city centre, and it looked so nice in the pictures. Sitting through an uncomfortable interview with an overly smiley man who nonetheless seemed detached was worth it, right?

Right?

He moved in.

And it was great! Really it was.

Sure, his building seemed a little empty sometimes, and he never saw people coming in and out of the numerous other flats around his even when he started getting back at all hours of the day after starting at the institute.

But he lived in London - his building was probably just filled with busy businesspeople with jobs far more intensive than a bit of researching.

And then Jane Prentiss. And the worms.

Once the initial adrenaline rush wore off, he got to worrying about his neighbours. Whoever they were. What if they came home to Prentiss? What if they got hurt because he dragged this back with him?

After 3 days he stopped worrying about his neighbours.

After 8 days he never wanted to see another can of fucking peaches again.

After 13 days he stopped worrying about himself. He was going to die here, alone, without even a stranger on the other side of a cinder block wall.

Then the knocking stopped. And he ran. Past every empty (empty, they Must be empty, because if they're not empty...) flat on his floor, down the stairwell (no worms, there are no worms here, where did they go) all the way to the institute.

Then he wasn't alone anymore. Jon believed him, had offered him a place to stay where the worms couldn't get in and there were people around all day.

And there were people around all night. Or person. Martin couldn't find it in himself to complain that Jon never went home, never got a full night's sleep, never took proper care of himself. He couldn't complain when it meant he was never alone.

Until Jane Prentiss Redux, and Sasha, and the unknowing, and his mum.

Tim dead. Sasha dead. His mother dead. Jon as good as.

The man who vetted him when he was looking for a flat appearing, while Martin stood watch in a room which didn’t even have a window, introducing himself - properly this time.

He looked at Jon, lying there in a hospital bed. When had he got so small? When Martin had first met the new head archivist he had seemed larger than life. Like he had seen into Martin's soul and found him unworthy. Now, when the nurses came by to check on him, his eyes were unseeing. He had started out with a heart monitor, but the constant piercing screech had got old very quickly. The only sign of life was an EEG steadily pumping out signals.

He was alone. Again. And he had nothing left to lose.

He wouldn't let Jon be hurt again.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Lukas. Would you like to talk at the institute?"


End file.
